Home Adaptations Technical Officer

Southampton City Council; Southampton; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent local government pension

Death in service benefit

Generous holiday 25–31 days

Flexible working options

Training and development

Job summary

Southampton City Council is seeking a Technical Officer to join the expanding Home Adaptation Service in Southampton. The role is fixed-term for 18 months, full-time, with a salary band of £33,119 to £37,562.

You will support residents to live independently, assess adaptation needs, design accessible solutions, and coordinate contractors to meet grant conditions. You will work alongside housing, health and social care to deliver timely adaptations, handle complex cases, and ensure compliance

Qualifications

• Hold 5 GCSEs (English and Maths) or equivalent.
• Have a technical qualification or relevant technical experience.
• Preferably have another higher-level qualification.

Responsibilities

• Manage your own complex caseload and develop tailored action plans from referral to completion.
• Assist in preparing tender documents, evaluate contractor estimates and monitor site work.
• Ensure compliance with legislation, Building Regulations, planning permissions and CDM 2015; use Visio for bespoke planning.
• Build relationships with external agencies and internal departments for referrals.
• Analyse case data to improve service delivery and produce reports.

Skills

Communication skills

Technical experience

Case load management

Administrative skills

Report writing

IT proficiency

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Negotiation with stakeholders

Education

5 GCSEs English & Maths

Technical qualification

Higher-level qualification preferred

Tools

Visio

Job description

About the Home Adaptations Service

We have an exciting opportunity to expand our delivery of adaptations in Southampton and join the Council’s newly formed Home Adaptation Service as Technical Officer. This role is fixed term for 18 months, full time.

We are committed to investing in our future and strengthening our directorate to deliver high-quality, person-centred support for adults across the city. This is an excellent time to join us as we continue to innovate and develop our adaptation service as part of a wider transformation programme of expansion and promotion via the establishment of the new city-wide Home Adaptation Service.

Our goal is to provide a more robust foundation from which we can expand the reach of the service whilst also seeking more innovative, preventative, and personalised applications from the available funding.

Working with colleagues in the Home Adaptations Service, the Housing Occupational Therapy Team in Adult Social Care, and Social Care. As a Technical Officer you will support people to live independently in their own homes for longer through a strengths-based approach.

One of the most important parts of a Technical Officer’s role is to help assess adaptation need and design accessible solutions and support the day-to–day work of the Senior Technical Officers.

They will act as a point of contact for clients applying for more complex adaptations, ensuring service quality, compliance with adaptation policy and procedures, helping to assess and support an applicant’s adaptation needs through their adaptation journey. They will ensure prompt action working with their own allocated caseload and the coordination of Senior Technical Officer appropriate case plans.

About the Team

Our Home Adaptation Service team supports both children and adult residents of Southampton who require an adaptation in their home to help access essential facilities and to maximise independence.

We complete home visits across the city and make recommendations for:

• Major and minor adaptations funded via the Disabled Facilities Grant/ Discretionary Financial Assistance Policy
• Adaptations delivered through Southampton City Council Housing Revenue Account
• Specialist equipment and other minor works when required
• You will be part of a supportive, collaborative team with strong links across housing, health, and social care services.

About the Role

As a Technical Officer within the Home Adaptation Service, you will work with disabled and vulnerable residents and:

• Manage your own more complex caseload and develop tailored action plans for an applicant requesting adaptations, from initial referral to the installation and completion of an adaptation.
• Support the Senior Technical Officers in the delivery of adaptations, help prepare specifications, draw up plans and oversee contractors to ensure that grant conditions are met
• You will assist in preparing tender documents, evaluate contractor estimates for VFM and help monitor site work, offering tailored advice, information and support
• Ensure all work complies with legislation, Building Regulations, planning permissions and CDM 2015 Regulations and use bespoke software such as Visio
• Build relationships with external agencies, internal SCC departments, and specialized organizations for appropriate referrals.
• Analysing case data to produce reports and improve service delivery
• Work closely with a range of internal and external partners, including:
  • Home Adaptation Service officers including Triage officers, Caseworkers, Senior Technical Officers and Southampton’s Principal Officers.
  • Southampton City Council Home Adaptation delivery team
  • Adult Social Care and Housing Occupational Therapists
  • Appropriate additional support agencies
  • Relevant NHS and community health teams
  • Support the delivery of safe, effective, and timely adaptation pathways
  • Contribute to the continuous improvement and development of the service

About You

We are looking for confident and self-motivated individuals who:

• Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Have relevant technical experience
• Handle sensitive situations with empathy and negotiating with stakeholders.
• Can work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Are committed to delivering high-quality, strengths based practice
• Can demonstrate sound organisational and problem solving skills
• Are adaptable and willing to contribute to a new, exciting overarching Home Adaptation Service

Training and regular supervision will be provided,

You must:

• Hold 5 GCSEs (English and Maths) a technical qualification or appropriate technical experience and preferably another higher-level qualification
• Have technical experience and experience of managing a case load as well as experience of working with vulnerable members of the public
• Have demonstrable administrative, organisational, excellent report writing skills, as well as being an effective communicator, with the ability for critical thinking for quick decision makingProficiency in IT and case management skills
• Able to maintain accurate case files, writing and updating reports and preparing documentation
• Able to prioritise Technical Officer caseload and identify urgent cases, any potential difficulties in an adaptation application/ client journey and ability to handle sensitive and high-pressure situations with empathy and assertiveness
• Able to negotiate with key stakeholders and build effective partner relationships
• Able to take responsibility for complex decisions

What we can offer you:

Salary: The salary band for this role is £33,119 - £37,562. The starting salary is £33,119 with annual progression through the salary bands.

Here at SCC we have a range of different benefits, a few examples can be found below.

• Excellent local government pension with 15.2% employer contribution
• Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)
• Generous holiday 25–31 days, based on role and service
• Flexible working options (role-dependent)
• Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents
• Training and development, including coaching and mentoring
• Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks
• Veteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant
• Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform
• Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres
• Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans
• Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer

Fort further information on our benefits package please visit: Employee benefits (southampton.gov.uk)

If you are applying for this opportunity internally on a secondment basis, you must obtain agreement from your current manager before applying. If you are successful, we will contact your manager to confirm the secondment arrangements.

Contact details for informal discussion:

For further information and details regarding the role, please contact Patricia Mahoney on 02380 833108

Interview Information:

Please note that interviews are provisionally scheduled for Monday 16th November.

Recruitment contact details:

Email: [e-mail] Tel: [phone]

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